Page 19 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

Viktor

A loud banging on the door startled Viktor awake in his bed.

“Everyone out! Emergency meeting for the healers!”

He threw on his lab coat in a hurry and stepped into the corridor, where other creatures were already gathering. Men and women stood like fish out of water, lingering outside their rooms, their faces filled with uncertainty at the commotion.

A wave of relief washed over him at the sight of Alex down the hall.

Since the siege, his concern for her had deepened into a gnawing unease.

The guards didn’t monitor Alex and Victor’s interactions, as she was not considered ‘dangerous’ like other creatures, but his worry for her still refused to fade.

Although her brother Grigor’s whereabouts remained unknown, Viktor felt a measure of gratitude that the boy was not among the hostages with them.

She noticed him, too, and made her way over.

“Any idea what’s going on?” He glanced at the soldiers patrolling the corridor and barking orders.

“From what I’ve gathered, they’re calling everyone involved in healing to the assembly hall,” Alex said.

“Tell them you’re not a healer and go back to your room,” Viktor growled.

“But I’ve worked with you in the lab for years!”

“You assist—”

“Assist?!”

“Stop talking and line up in pairs!”

“I’m not sure what this is about.” Viktor softened his tone to soothe her. “But it can’t be anything good. You have a chance to get out of this. Tell the guards you’re still in training.”

“Only someone slow-witted would still be in training after fifty years!” Alex took her place in line. “Unlike my brother, I stayed in the Hospital, and I’ll face whatever this is with everyone else.”

“Move out!”

“One day, that reckless sense of invincibility will land you in trouble,” Victor muttered under his breath as the group of creatures started moving towards the archway at the end of the corridor.

“Me?” Alex shot back in a whisper. “Have you seen yourself lately?”

“What?” He glanced at the two reptilian guards watching the creatures pass through the vestibule like ants in a parade.

Alex cast him a sidelong glance. “Do you really think I don’t see that you’re on the verge of falling into Vaka Hara?”

Viktor’s mouth pressed into a hard line. She knew.

Of course, she knew. If there was anyone in this world from whom he could hide nothing, it was Alex – for better or worse.

Were it not for the guards ushering them forward with shouted commands and pointed weapons, Viktor might have launched into an explanation. But he had no time. “Alex, it’s not—”

“Don’t lie to me, Victor. You’re putting yourself at risk, acting as if you’re untouchable. Did you hear a vampire turned the other day? He lost control. They shot him on the spot!”

Viktor glanced around, making sure no one was listening. “How long have you known?”

“Ever since you returned from Alberobello, pretending everything was fine after Mikhail drugged you—”

“Stop talking and keep moving!”

They descended a side staircase to the floor housing the assembly hall.

The heavy double doors stood wide open, flanked by two guards directing the creatures inside.

The long table at the centre of the hall was as they had left it after the last meeting of the Council of Twenty.

But this time, Mikhail did not occupy the chair at the head.

Instead, Elisanda Grace was poised there, holding a sheet of paper and a pen.

One corner of the room held the others, already packed tightly, and with Viktor’s group added to the crush, breathing became a struggle.

Among the crowd, Viktor spotted Vladislav and Elena Nyavolski.

The couple was unusually quiet. He rarely spoke with them, since both were kept under tight security.

A moment later, Elisanda began reading from the paper – a roll call to confirm everyone had responded. Both Viktor and Alex were on the list.

Some names went unanswered. Elisanda dispatched guards to fetch the missing, instructing them not to return empty-handed.

“Colleagues”—she set the paper on the table—“I apologise for how we must… handle you. But this is a necessity, given that you’re still bound by your outdated convictions.”

“Outdated convictions, my arse!” Nyavolski’s voice boomed. He towered over the huddled creatures near the wall. “What, that I need air to breathe? You’ve crammed us in here like chickens in a coop, while you stand there like the Queen of England, calling me ‘colleague’!”

Elisanda smiled. “Very well, colleague,” she said, gesturing to an empty chair. “Please, have a seat. You’re the chief surgeon of this hospital and deserve your place at the table.”

“And leave my real colleagues? Not a fucking chance. Stay there and keep pretending you’re in charge.”

The nymph’s blue eyes flared with malice. A guard raised his weapon at Nyavolski.

“This isn’t off to a smooth start,” Elisanda said through gritted teeth.

“Listen closely. If you’re holding out hope that the deceitful manticore will return, you’re sorely mistaken.

He no longer exists. From now on, I set the rules, and if you want to live, you follow them.

” She scanned the crowd. “Pull yourselves together, because we have serious work ahead!”

The creatures murmured among themselves.

“Silence!” Elisanda shouted. “You have no discipline. No wonder! This hospital was run by a mentally unstable man, after all.”

Viktor dug his claws into his palms.

“I want all surgeons, even those no longer active in the operating room”—she glanced pointedly at him—“to be ready. In the coming months, we’ll have very special patients. Their lives will take precedence over your own, and I expect everyone to remember that.”

“Are these patients human?” Alex asked, pushing through the crowd before Viktor could stop her.

“No, they’re not human,” Elisanda replied.

“Then what makes them special?” Alex pressed.

Viktor’s chest tightened with worry. He had taught her many things over the years. How he wished silence had been one of them.

“You’ll find out soon enough, dear. I’m glad at least some of you show enthusiasm. Trust me, it will make things easier for you…” Elisanda trailed off as her attention shifted towards the door.

A man sauntered into the room, his lips curled in an easy-going grin, hands lifted in an exaggerated pantomime of goodwill – every inch insincere. If Viktor had struggled to contain his rage before, it became impossible now. This man was the most loathsome being in Viktor’s cursed world.

General Petrov. The man who carried on the legacy of the monster who had butchered Viktor’s pregnant wife, carving her alive to study the anatomy of an immortal being.

“Greetings, friends,” the monster said, striding towards the table as if he owned the place.

Viktor’s heart began driving blood to the beast coiled inside him.

Wake up. Wake up, it whispered. His muscles tensed, his body already preparing.

He would release the wolf, consequences be damned.

Losing his life tonight would be a small price to pay for the satisfaction of tearing that wretch apart.

“Viktor!” someone whispered in his ear.

He pivoted on his heel, every muscle locked in painful defiance. His mind and flesh waged war for dominance. The rational part of him clung to restraint, while the wolf roared for blood.

Alex. Alex was saying something. She’d moved closer to him.

“You’re morphing, Victor! Please stop, before anyone notices!”

He exhaled, reining in his impulse.

“That’s it. Stay calm. No one saw. It was just your eyes changing…” Alex continued to whisper, her grip firm on his arm.

Only. For. Her.

This wasn’t over.

Viktor’s blazing gaze returned to the General, who now sat beside Elisanda.

“…and I don’t wish for my presence to alarm you,” Petrov was saying. “I’m simply curious about you and your work, so I’ve been granted permission to observe your operations…”

The psychopath would enter the OR?

“…I want you to be comfortable around me. I am your friend…”

Tonight. Viktor would tear him apart tonight. Damn everything else! He would embrace death, but not before exacting his vengeance.

“Viktor, they’re telling us to leave!” Alex’s voice broke through his rage.

He snapped back to reality. The crowd was already dispersing.

“Viktor, come with me to the lab,” Alex urged. “I need to show you something.”

He decided to humour her. Better yet, he’d go with her first and then hunt Petrov down. It wouldn’t be hard to track him, even across ten floors. The man’s scent was seared into his mind.

They reached the lab, Viktor moving on autopilot while Alex chatted away. He barely nodded in reply. Once inside, she disappeared into the small storeroom to fetch something. Viktor gripped the edge of the lab table.

Yes, yes, yes! The wolf within revelled, catching the scent of blood.

When Alex returned, Viktor barked, “What is it?!”

As soon as the words left him, he realised they had come out too harshly. He needed to be more careful, or she might get suspicious.

“To apologise,” she said, the corners of her mouth lifting even as a crease of tension cut between her eyebrows..

He frowned. “For what?”

“For what I’m about to do…”

Her next action took him by surprise.